Electric street-car motor



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J'. SHAWHYAN.

ELECTRIC STREET GAR MOTOR.

No. 453,216. Y Patented Jllne 2,1891.

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J. P. SHAWHAN. ELECTRIC STREET CAR MOTOR.

No. 453,216,. v Patented June 2, 1891.v

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J. F. SHAWHAN. ELECTRIC STREET GAR MOTOR.

' 110.453,21. PRtentedJune 2,1891.

UNITED STATEs PATENT OFFICE.

JABEA F. SHAVHAN, OF DAYTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO FREEMAN B. DIOKERSON, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

ELECTRIC STREET-CAR IVIOTO R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N9. 453,216, dated June 2, 1891. Application filed September 9, 1889. Serial No. 3231371 (N0 modem To @ZZ whom t may conceive: A

13e it known that I, J ABEA F. SHAWHAN,v a citizen of the United States, residing at Dayton, in the county'of Montgomery and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Street-Oar M0- tors, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to driving street-railway or tram cars by electricity, and has for its obgect to drive two independently-revolvlng car-wheels or sets of wheels byindependently-operating electric devices, and to adapt a constantly-operating automatic electric motor to street-cardriving purposes; and to these ends it consists of an electric motor havlng two independent revolving armatures connected, preferably, by certain novel gearing described with the independently-revolving wheels of the car, and .in certain details of arrangement and combinations of parts to be hereinafter pointed out.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side view of a tram-car having myinvention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the truck and the motor carried thereby. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the variable reducing-gear device. Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4 4, Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 5 is a plan view of a motor connected to drive two independently-revolving wheels mounted upon the same axle.

The motor A and the storage-batteries B are supported upon a small car speciallyconstructed and adapted therefor, the truckwheels being arranged close together with the motorbetween them supported upon the truck-frame, while the batteries are upon a spring-supported frame, preferably the frame of the car.

In the drawings, 1 1 represent the carrying and driving wheels of this caror truck mounted upon the axles 2, which run in the boxes 3, all of which parts may be of any usual or preferred construction. 'The longitudinal sills or bars 5 of the truck are connected by the end andintermediate cross-bars 6. Above the truck-frame thus formed is another rectangular frame 7, supported upon the springs 8 and generally constituting the platform of the car. The motor Al is securely supported upon the truck-frame and thus has a rigid Aor fixed relation to the wheels, so that a constant relation between the driving shaft or shafts of the motor and the wheels is maintained. The batteries, on the other hand, as

well as the'platform and the top of the car,

are mounted upon the spring-supported frame, which avoids jarring the batteries.

The motor consists of the ield-magnets 9, between the poles of which are arranged the two revolving armatures 10, with commutators and brushes in such relation to each other that the armatures are driven in unison. The shaft llcf each armature lO is independently connected to drive one of the pairs of truck-wheels l.

It frequently occurs that the sizes of the wheels on the different axles of a car vary from different causes, such as unequal shrinkage in casting, unequal wear or travel, ttc., and much difficulty has heretofore been experienced in driving such wheels from a single motor by reason of this fact, because one set of wheels with its axle tends to make more revolutions in traveling a given distance than does the other set. This is extremely destructive upon machinery where the two sets of wheels are connected with a single motor by rigid gearing. This objection has been sought to be overcome by the use of two electric motors, each connected with one of the sets of wheels to be driven ;A but the use of two motors adds considerable more weight to be carried, and more energy is required to charge the field-magnets than in one motor, which objections are overcome without any attending disadvantages or loss by the use of a single pair of field-magnets having two independent armatures connected which have to stop and start at short intervals and where the car-wheels travel at a lower speed than the armature-shaft.

In order to secure the advantages of the use of a continuously-moving motor and to operate the wheels from armatures revolving at high speeds, I employ the variable speedgear device, which I will new describe. Each armature-shaft 11, Figs. 3 and 4, is provided with an eccentric 17, keyed to the armatureshaft, upon which eccentric is loosely mounted a pinion 18, which meshes with the internal Ateeth (t of an annular gear-wheel 1G, supported concentrically to the shaft 11. This annular wheel 16 is by preference supported by a flange 15 of a sleeve 14, which is loosely supported upon the armature-shaft, the flange tightly closing the internal opening therein of the wheel 16 on the inner side. The external teeth b, Figs. 1 and 3, of the annular wheel 16 mesh with a gear-wheel 19, secured either to the axle 2 of the truck or to one of the wheels thereon, the wheel 1G, when in operation, serving as an idler to transmit motion from the pinion 1S to the gear-wheel 19. If the pinion 1S be perfectly free to turn upon the supporting eccentric around its own center and motion be imparted to the shaft 11, the pinion is carried around the internal gear a of the annular wheel and in mesh therewith, the pinion having thus imparted to it a planetary-like movement, the direction of revolution of the pinion being the rcverse of that of the shaft. Under these cir cumstances no motion is imparted to the annular wheel 1U. Should, however, the revolution of the pinion upon its own center be arrested by any means, the eccentric being loose within the pinion and carrying the latter with it around the axis of the shaft 11, still causes the pinion to travel upon the in ternal gear a of the annular wheel; but, being prevented from turning on its own center, the pinion causes the annular wheel 16 to revolve in a direction the same as that of the shaft 11, but at a much less speed.

The revolution of the pinion around its .own center may be arrested in numerous ways, that which I have shown consisting of a friction device 0f such nature that the arresting of the revolution around its own center of the pinion and the corresponding starting of the annular wheel and the parts which it drives--froln the shaft 11, which is rapidly revolving-is gradual and easy, so that shocks and strains are not experienced. The mechanism for thus gradually starting the annular wheel 1G, and through it the car, consists of a grip or friction wheel and band and a loose connection between such wheel and the pinion, the parts being so arranged that when the grip or friction wheel is free to turn it is caused to rotate by the pinion as it is carried around the axis of the shaft 11 by the eccentric; but as soon as the wheel is held stationary by the grip-band the pinion, by reason of the universal movement 24, is held from turning on its own center, while it is free to accompany the eccentric. One arrangement of grip-wheel 20 is shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, in which the grip-wheel is supported to turn freely upon the reduced portion 22 of the armature-shaft 11.

The grip-bands 2G are each supported at one end upon a bolt or pin 27, mounted in a bar or rod 28, extending from some stationary part of the frame-work. The two bolts 27 are preferably connected by a cross-bar 29,which braces them apart, and, together with the bars 2S, holds them in proper relation to each other and to their wheels. I prefer to operate the two bands 2G by means of asinglehand-lever 30, which is connected by a link 31 with a cross-bar 32, which in turn is connected by the links 38, respectively, with the levers 34;. The levers are fulcrumed in adjustable supports consisting of the screw-rods 35, mounted in the sockets 36, and are connected with the ends of the bands 2(5,opposite to those which are supported bythe bolts 27. By moving the hand-lever in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1, the bands and shoes will be made to grip the wheels 20, and thus stop the rotation of the pinions 18 and cause power to be transmitted to the driving-wheels 1 of the truck.

23 is an arm carried by the pinion 1S and pivotally connected at its outer end to a block 24, sliding between ways 25, formed on the grip-wheel. IVhen the grip-wheel is held stationary the block 24 and pinion are prevented from turning; but the block is permitted to slide in and out in the Ways 25 as the pinion is carried with the eccentric.

The motor which I employ is an automatic or shun t-wound electric motor and regulates the amount of current taken according to the amount of work being performed, and therefore so long as the grip-bands 2G are loose the only energy expended will be that required to overcome the friction of the bearings and to cause the pinion to revolve around the internal gear of the annular wheel. While the speed of the armature-shaft of the motors is practically uniform, whether it be running free or driving the car,I am enabled to connect the motor with the driving-wheels without any shock to the machinery, since by slowly moving the hand-lever 30 to gradually bring the grip-band 26 to bear its wheel acertain amount of slip is allowed between the band and wheel and theturningof the pinion 1S upon its center is gradually arrested and the car-wheels are started u p correspondingly.

By means of the single train of gearing of the proportion shown, consisting of the pinion 18, the annular internally and externally toothed Wheel 1G,and the gear-wheel 19, I reduce the speed from the armature-shaft to the car-axle from 15 to 1, thus greatly reducing the amount of gearing. In order to further reduce friction and prevent noise to as great an extent as possible, I cause the pinion 18 and the sliding connection between the pinion and the grip or friction wheel to move IOO IIO

in oil, the internal opening of the wheel 16 constituting an oil-reservoir, the inner end of which is tightly closed'by the plate 15, as before described. The outer face of the 'annular wheel 16 is covered and closed by the grip-wheel 20, between which andthe face of the pinion is arranged apacking-ring 38, held outward by the springs 39, which ring forms an loil-tight joint, closing the oil-reservoir.

In Fig. 5 I have shown a motor and connections wherein the two separate armatureshafts are connected respectively with the two wheels mounted loosely upon the same axle. Such motor is intended to be applied directly to the car intended for the carrying of passengers, and as I have made it the subject-matter of a subsequent application for patent, filed May 10, 1890, Serial No. 351,338, I have merely shown in a general way the vconnections between the motor and the carwheels, many of the details of arrangement being omitted. Similar reference-letters for like parts are used in these figures. The wheels 1 are shown as carried by sleeves 45, which run loosely and independently of each other upon the axle 2. The sleeves 45 carry the gear-wheels 19, which are driven, as in the apparatus hereinbefore described, from the armature-shafts. By employing a single field-magnet with two armatures not only are the objections incident to the variation in the size of the car-wheels overcome, as before described, but at the same time the advantages incident to the use of a single motor in the less electric energy expended in charging the field-magnets, and the great reduction in weight, are secured.

The advantages incident to employing a constantly-operating automatic motor have been set forth, as well as those incident to the variable reducing-gear connections which I have described and shown.

It will be understood that this gear connection is equally adapted for use in connection with a motor, whether electric orV not, having a single driving-shaft. By arranging the motor and batteries upon a separate car constructed therefor the noise of the motor and the smell of the batteries is removed from the passengers, and, by reason of its being of small size, it is more readily shifted than can be a car of larger size, and turns short curves more easily. Besides, the wheels can be mounted so close together'as to permit the motor to be geared directly to both sets of wheels and the motor set so high as to be largely free from dust and easy of access for repairs, dto. The arrangement of the reducing-gear device (shown -in Figs. 3 and 4) brings the grip-wheel and the annular wheel 16 into concentric relations with each other, so that besides being able to support them upon a common support the grip-wheel serves as a dust-guard for the. internal opening into the wheel 16, in which the eccentric and pinion operate.

lVithout limiting myself to the precise construction and arrangement of parts shown, I claim- 1. A motor-car having a rigid truck-frame connecting rigidly the two axles, and a second frame supported by spring-bearings upon the truck-frame and connected with the body, in combination with an electromotor arranged upon the truck-frame with independent connections between the motor and the difterent wheels, and batteries mounted upon the spring-supportedframe, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination,with the independentlyrevolving car-wheels on a single axle, of an electric motor having two armature-shafts independently connected to drive the said carwheels, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with one or more axles, of a motor consisting of two electro-magnets and two armatures and having a single magnetic circuit, the armatures being connected to propel the car, substantially as setforth.

4. The combination, with one or more axles of a car, of a pair of electro-magnets and two armatures constituting asingle motor having a single magnetic circuit, the motor being suspended from the axle or axles and the armatures being geared to propel the car,

'substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, with as ingle axle of a car, of a motor consisting of a pair of electromagnets. and two armatures and having a single magnetic circuit, the motor being supported by the axle and the armatures being geared to propel the car, substantially as described.

6. The combination,with the independentlyrevolving car-wheels, of an electric motor having a single field-magnet and two armatures operating between the poles of the magnet in a single magnetic circuit, and independent gear connections between each armatureshaft and one of the gear-axles, substantially as described.

7. The combination, with a tram-car and a constantly-revolving electric motor thereon, of independent car-wheels and a speed-reducing device between each car-wheel and the motor, substantially as set forth.

, In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribingrwitnesses.

JABEA F. SHAWHAN.

Witnesses:

OYRUs JOHNSTON, D. MAXWELL.

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